“What do you think of her, mamma?” said Adriana, with glistening1 eyes, as she ran into Mrs. Neuchatel’s dressing-room for a moment before dinner.
“I think her manners are perfect,” replied Mrs. Neuchatel; “and as there can be no doubt, after all we have heard, of her principles, I think we are most fortunate. But what do you think of her, Adriana? For, after all, that is the main question.”
“I think she is divine,” said Adriana; “but I fear she has no heart.”
“And why? Surely it is early to decide on such a matter as that!”
“When I took her to her room,” said Adriana, “I suppose I was nervous; but I burst into tears, and threw my arms round her neck and embraced her, but she did not respond. She touched my forehead with her lips, and withdrew from my embrace.”
“She wished, perhaps, to teach you to control your emotions,” said Mrs. Neuchatel. “You have known her only an hour, and you could not have done more to your own mother.”
It had been arranged that there should be no visitors today; only a nephew and a foreign consul-general, just to break the formality of the meeting. Mr. Neuchatel placed Myra next to himself at the round table, and treated her with marked consideration—cordial but courteous2, and easy, with a certain degree of deference3. His wife, who piqued4 herself on her perception of character, threw her brown velvet5 eyes on her neighbour, Mr. Penruddock, and cross-examined him in mystical whispers. She soon recognised his love of nature; and this allowed her to dissert on the subject, at once sublime6 and inexhaustible, with copiousness7 worthy8 of the theme. When she found he was an entomologist, and that it was not so much mountains as insects which interested him, she shifted her ground, but treated it with equal felicity. Strange, but nature is never so powerful as in insect life. The white ant can destroy fleets and cities, and the locusts9 erase10 a province. And then, how beneficent they are! Man would find it difficult to rival their exploits: the bee, that gives us honey; the worm, that gives us silk; the cochineal, that supplies our manufactures with their most brilliant dye.
Mr. Penruddock did not seem to know much about manufactures, but always recommended his cottagers to keep bees.
“The lime-tree abounds11 in our village, and there is nothing the bees love more than its blossoms.”
This direct reference to his village led Mrs. Neuchatel to an inquiry12 as to the state of the poor about Hurstley, and she made the inquiry in a tone of commiseration13.
“Oh! we do pretty well,” said Mr. Penruddock.
“But how can a family live on ten or twelve shillings a week?” murmured Mrs. Neuchatel.
“There it is,” said Mr. Penruddock. “A family has more than that. With a family the income proportionately increases.”
Mrs. Neuchatel sighed. “I must say,” she said, “I cannot help feeling there is something wrong in our present arrangements. When I sit down to dinner every day, with all these dishes, and remember that there are millions who never taste meat, I cannot resist the conviction that it would be better if there were some equal division, and all should have, if not much, at least something.”
“Nonsense, Emily!” said Mr. Neuchatel, who had an organ like Fine-ear, and could catch, when necessary, his wife’s most mystical revelations. “My wife, Mr. Penruddock, is a regular Communist. I hope you are not,” he added, with a smile, turning to Myra.
“I think life would be very insipid,” replied Myra, “if all our lots were the same.”
When the ladies withdrew, Adriana and Myra walked out together hand-inhand. Mr. Neuchatel rose and sate14 next to Mr. Penruddock, and began to talk politics. His reverend guest could not conceal15 his alarm about the position of the Church and spoke16 of Lord John Russell’s appropriation17 clause with well-bred horror.
“Well, I do not think there is much to be afraid of,” said Mr. Neuchatel. “This is a liberal age, and you cannot go against it. The people must be educated, and where are the funds to come from? We must all do something, and the Church must contribute its share. You know I am a Liberal, but I am not for any rash courses. I am not at all sorry that Sir Robert Peel gained so much at the last general election. I like parties to be balanced. I am quite content with affairs. My friends, the Liberals, are in office, and, being there, they can do very little. That is the state of things, is it not, Melchior?” he added, with a smile to his nephew, who was an M.P. “A balanced state of parties, and the house of Neuchatel with three votes—that will do. We poor City men get a little attention paid to us now, but before the dissolution three votes went for nothing. Now, shall we go and ask my daughter to give us a song?”
Mrs. Neuchatel accompanied her daughter on the piano, and after a time not merely on the instrument. The organ of both was fine and richly cultivated. It was choice chamber18 music. Mr. Neuchatel seated himself by Myra. His tone was more than kind, and his manner gentle. “It is a little awkward the first day,” he said, “among strangers, but that will wear off. You must bring your mind to feel that this is your home, and we shall all of us do everything in our power to convince you of it. Mr. Penruddock mentioned to me your wish, under present circumstances, to enter as little as possible into society, and this is a very social house. Your feeling is natural, and you will be in this matter entirely19 your own mistress. We shall always be glad to see you, but if you are not present we shall know and respect the cause. For my own part, I am one of those who would rather cherish affection than indulge grief, but every one must follow their mood. I hear you have a brother, to whom you are much attached; a twin, too, and they tell me strongly resembling you. He is in a public office, I believe? Now, understand this; your brother can come here whenever he likes, without any further invitation. Ask him whenever you please. We shall always be glad to see him. No sort of notice is necessary. This is not a very small house, and we can always manage to find a bed and a cutlet for a friend.”
收听单词发音 |
1
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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6
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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copiousness
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| n.丰裕，旺盛 | |
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8
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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9
locusts
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| n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树 | |
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erase
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| v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹 | |
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abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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12
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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commiseration
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| n.怜悯，同情 | |
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sate
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| v.使充分满足 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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16
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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17
appropriation
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| n.拨款，批准支出 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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19
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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